My Ex-Husband Came Back Crazy - Chapter 66

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 66
Chapter 7. The Source (6)
Lucius woke and instinctively grabbed his head. A dull ache throbbed through his skull and pain washed over him, but he clenched and opened his eyes repeatedly to clear the fog.
“Ah.”
As he pushed himself upright, a short groan escaped his parched lips.
He pressed his temples and shook his head. His body felt heavy inside, waterlogged.
For a moment he remained hunched, steadying his breathing.
‘This is strange.’
He could only mutter the incoherent words aloud.
At the same time, fragmented scenes from his mind began to piece themselves together clumsily.
The Terrace. Moonlight. Celia.
“……Celia?”
Where was she, then?
Lucius dropped his hands from his face and jerked his head up in alarm.
He found Celia sitting on the sofa across from the bed.
A steaming teacup sat before her, draped loosely in a pristine linen nightgown.
She lifted her eyelids, fingers still toying absently with her hair.
When that cold gaze fell upon him, Lucius stiffened his spine by instinct.
“……May I offer a ‘good morning’ greeting?”
His voice came hoarse and lower than usual, fractured.
He was a man who never neglected his self-presentation, and he knew full well how shabby he must appear. Worse still—his audience was Celia.
If he could, he would have bolted for the bathroom at once. But……
“Good morning?”
Celia’s eyes sharpened, pinning him firmly in place.
“Good morning to whom?”
Lucius moistened his mouth and rose from the bed.
He swung both feet over the edge, his mouth opening as he did.
“I’m sorry.”
Celia’s head tilted slightly, puzzled.
“Sorry for what?”
“…….”
He felt more anxious standing here than he ever had before the Emperor himself.
“I showed you a sight I shouldn’t have.”
“What sight?”
She rose from her chair and walked toward the bed. Her slippers made almost no sound against the carpet.
When she stopped before him.
Lucius abandoned all pretense and could only whisper his guilt.
“I couldn’t restrain a single desire. It must have been revolting—hateful. You must be disappointed in me.”
Celia folded her arms across her chest at an angle.
His hair, normally impeccably groomed, hung disheveled around his face. The composure and ease he usually carried had vanished entirely.
The moment he wet his parched lips with his tongue, Celia’s brows crumpled sharply.
“Ha……!”
Seeing that coldness, Lucius hesitated, then reached out his hand.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
His approaching hand brushed her lips.
The careful way he held her wrist revealed his concern—there was not a false note in it. But that was not the source of Celia’s anger.
“Are you joking right now?”
“…I’m truly sorry.”
“You collapsed like that, and I had to call people and clean up the whole mess. Do you have any idea how much trouble I went through?”
“…….”
“I almost cracked my head on the floor when you fell on me! I thought I’d be crushed to death. And then people came rushing in, and I—…….”
Celia remembered last night with vivid clarity.
Lucius had considerable muscle, and his weight was far greater than appearances suggested. When she first caught him as he collapsed onto her, shock had quickly turned to irritation.
Her shoe heels broke trying to push him away, her hair came undone struggling free from his weight, and her dress—well, there was no point mentioning that.
The servants’ expressions when she summoned them as if she’d just returned from training in the Arctic wastes!
There was no doubt strange rumors would spread.
Emerging from the Terrace like that, with the curtains drawn and no one else present.
That gossip of another woman in his life would conveniently disappear—that calculation didn’t matter to her now. Her shoulders trembled slightly.
Morning light cast shadows beneath his lower lashes, and his distress and shame showed nakedly.
“Celia—”
Knock, knock.
A butler entered, wheeling a tray, and stopped short when he saw the distance and atmosphere between the two.
“……I beg your pardon. Shall I return later?”
Celia brushed her hair back roughly and spoke first.
“No, come in.”
She gestured at Lucius with her chin.
“Get him to drink that first.”
The perceptive butler approached Lucius at once, offering him a teacup from his tray.
“Willow bark and dried ginger steeped in hot water, sir.”
“…….”
Lucius accepted the tea without resistance.
Bitter fragrance rose from the cup’s rim, and he drank slowly, deliberately.
In the meantime, the butler skillfully handed him a warm cloth and tidied his disheveled collar.
Soon after, Lucius had recovered at least a semblance of dignity. His hair was combed back in order, and his shirt was buttoned properly.
Celia, now merely tapping her feet, rested her chin on her hand and spoke.
“We need to talk in a moment.”
Could any words sound more frightening?
Given the choice, Lucius would have laid everything he possessed at her feet, but even now, he couldn’t bring himself to answer easily.
At that moment, the butler carefully inserted himself between them.
“Forgive me, but may I inform you of today’s schedule?”
It was the discretion of an experienced servant, knowing when to interject and when to stay silent.
Celia waved her hand as if to say it was necessary, and the butler’s gaze turned to Lucius.
“Young Master, you must visit the Albion Bridge construction site personally today.”
“Ah… yes, that’s right.”
“The timeline is quite tight, so immediate preparation will be necessary.”
Lucius glanced at Celia and hesitated in his reply.
Celia, watching him closely, called the butler near and asked.
“Is it urgent?”
“It appears so, yes… I’m afraid it is.”
“What’s the matter?”
The butler hesitated briefly, unsure whether to speak, but seeing Lucius raise no objection, he continued.
“Some issues have arisen with a portion of the steel materials used in the bridge’s pilings. We’ve been analyzing the precise cause, and the results should arrive today.”
“If it’s serious, you’ll suspend construction?”
“The situation makes immediate continuation inadvisable. The Young Master’s final judgment is needed on-site.”
In short, today’s outing was unavoidable.
Lucius slowly raised his hand to cover his eyes. His discomfort was plain to see.
Of course, this discomfort belonged to Lucius alone.
“Go.”
“Celia.”
“It’s work. Did you think you wouldn’t go?”
“But… grant me at least the time to explain myself to you.”
Celia, who understood his grave sense of responsibility well, looked up at him with a fresh expression. Lucius accepted that gaze with a penitent heart.
“…Today, the situation I need to resolve is serious. If I go, I may not be able to return by evening. If possible, I want to settle things with you before I leave.”
“Really?”
“Your mood isn’t good.”
“What does my mood have to do with you?”
The butler had already retreated from the room, backing away. Yet both remained so focused on each other that neither noticed.
Lucius’s face became that of a wounded puppy. He knelt on one knee before her, burying his face in his hand and whispering.
“I was wrong.”
“…….”
“How can I earn your forgiveness? If you wish it, I’ll do anything.”
As far as Lucius knew, this was their first quarrel. And so he was more anxious, more desperate.
An ordinary woman would certainly have forgiven him by now and asked for nothing more. But Celia was not ordinary.
“Really? Anything?”
“Yes, anything is fine. Just say it.”
She withdrew her hand and rose to her feet.
“Then take me with you on today’s errand.”
***
While she went to find suitable clothing for the outing, the butler presented Lucius with a towel after his bath.
Half-dressed, his wet hair caught in a towel draped halfway down, he raised only his eyes to look at Roton. Water droplets traced his neck and dampened his white collar.
“Roton.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Roton, who had come with him to the capital, answered faithfully.
“I drank from Celia’s cup yesterday.”
Lucius lowered the towel as he spoke.
“I think someone put something in it.”
“…….”
“Investigate thoroughly.”
At that cool voice, Roton bowed his head.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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